There’s a lot going on at the Jonathan Clark House this summer! Here’s a quick look at two upcoming June celebrations, as well as information about our other 2024 summer events. Be sure to click Continue reading (below) to see all the details.
Pie on the Patio 2024
As a reminder, Pie on the Patio, our annual salute to donors and Friends of the Jonathan Clark House will be held at the museum this Wednesday, June 12, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. There is limited space for the event and RSVPs were due June 5. But if you have questions or last-minute changes in plans, please contact executive director Nina Look via email at jchmuseum@gmail.com or call 262-618-2051.
And if you don’t want to miss next year’s Pie on the Patio, become a Clark House donor, today! Just click this link to our JCH donor page, or scan the QR code, below, and scroll down to the Donate Online info. And thank you for your support!
This Saturday! – Heritage Day 2024
Put away the electronics and experience life in Mequon-Thiensville as it was in the 1850s. On Saturday, June 15, from Noon to 3:00 p.m., the Jonathan Clark House Museum hosts its annual Heritage Day, where everyone steps back in time to learn more about early settler life. Each event features hands-on activities and fun for all ages. Admission is free and open to the public. Come see us at the corner of Cedarburg and Bonniwell Roads in Mequon!
Save the Dates! 2024 JCH summer Open House days
Every season brings new events and activities to the Jonathan Clark House. Come see see us this summer!
Saturday, July 13, 9 a.m.- Noon. Open House at the museum. Come and take a tour!
Saturday, August 10, 9 a.m.-Noon. Open House at the museum. Come and take a tour!
Or feel free to contact JCH director Nina Look at jchmuseum@gmail.com to arrange a tour date and time that fits your schedule. Tours sponsored by a grant from the Mequon Thiensville Optimist Club.
Website updates!
It’s a work in progress, but we’re making a whole bunch of updates and improvements to the Jonathan Clark House website. One new addition that you may find particularly useful is our new NEWS & EVENTS page, your one-stop source for “what’s up at the Clark House” info. Click on over to see the changes made so far, and use this blog’s Leave a comment (below) or CONTACT forms to let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading, and see you soon at the Jonathan Clark House!
Clark House Historian 
Reed – I like the new “News & Events” section of the JCH Web site and the information in the JCH News letter – great job.
I’m currently preparing to become a JCH tour guide and have been doing some research regarding various artifact items contained in the JCH that we talk about during a tour. What I discovered was that there is limited JCH documentation regarding many of the artifacts. Examples: how was lye soap made, how were candles made, what items were available for the Clark family to purchase at the Cedarburg Mill store, what were the duties of a Road Supervisor and Supervisor of Weights and Measurements that Jonathan Clark had, the geographic migration from the Northwest Territory to the Wisconsin Territory – the list goes on for most of the artifacts in the JCH.
Have you ever researched and written about any of the above topics – or plan to?
Ed Foster, egfoster88@gmail.com
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Hello Ed!
Thanks for the comments. I’m glad you like the additions to the JCH website and newsletter. I’m happy to take some credit for how things are organized and presented, but I have to tip my hat to Nina Look for providing much of the up-to-date content.
And I’m happy to hear that you’re preparing to be a JCH tour guide. Have fun with that. I know you’ll do a great job, in part because you ask such excellent questions. I can answer a few of these right now, and I’ll answer more—such as how candles and such were made—in my next blog post.
To learn more about the Cedarburg Mill store and its contents during JMC’s era, I’d visit the Cedarburg History Museum (in the old Hilgen & Schroeder mill store) and check out their digital display of an early Cedarburg mill store ledger. The complete ledger has been scanned and transcribed and can be virtually paged through at the museum. Also, the CHM volunteers—and especially CHM director Joel Willems—might be able to give you a better overview of what was sold at the early mill store.
I don’t think I’ve seen a detailed “job description” for any of JMC’s civic jobs. I presume there was some sort of general understanding among the county & town supervisors and residents as to what tasks were involved with which jobs. I have written a lot about early road building in the area (and I have a few more posts coming up on that shortly). Until I get the blog’s INDEX up to date (sigh!), the best I can suggest is using the blog’s SEARCH function and try keywords ROAD and ROADS, among others.
Likewise with maps. I really need to index the maps on this site, as they are very useful in visualizing the growth of the nation from Northwest Territory days through the Clarks’ era and beyond. So I don’t have a quick and easy solution to finding the right maps easily. I’d use the SEARCH function, and also try selecting “Maps & Places” on the blog’s CATEGORIES pull-down menu.
I’ll be back with a blog post of a good source of “How To” information, Clark-era style, in just a bit.
I hope this helps. Thanks again for reading and for the great questions.
—Reed
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